Manufacture of fertilizer material.



- facture of lq'o Drawing;

rmrr meonneon sunny, or SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

, menuracrunn or FERTILIZER. MATERIAL.

' Specification of Letters Extent.-

To all whom it may concern: i i

Be it-known that I, PHILIP 'MAGGREGOR SHunY, a citizen of the ing at vannah, in the county ofChatha-m and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in the Manu- Fertilizer Material, of which the following is a specification. his invention of material for use as or in pertains particularly to the conversion of invention can pots or retorts,

-- troduced into the v of niter-cake 1I1S0ll1'ble phosphate such, for example, as I p e. V

trl-calciu m phosphate econtained in and phosphate rocks generally,

nes, or other materials,- they are available to plant life,

phosphorites,

by the use produced as a by-pu'oduct of the manufacture of nitric and sulfuric acids and which contains principally sulfate and also free sulfuric acid and. some normal sodium sulfate. v

The process provided by the invention in cludes the mixing of niter-cake in a molten state with ground phosphate-bearing material, the sodium acid sulfate and the free acid of the niteir-cake converting the insoluble tricalcium phosphate into soluble monoand di-calcium forms.

Inasmuch as niter-cake is in a molten condition atthe time it is Withdrawn from the ni-ter' pots or retorts in which it has-been produced as a by-product, the process of this be carried on economically in association with-that in which the niter-cake is formed, as that material can be transferred directly from the pots or retolts to an apparatus in'. which it is mixed with the phosphate-bearing material, and thus the necessity of heating the niter-cake may be avoided.

When molten nit'er-cake is mixed'quicklv with groimd phosphate-bearing material, the heat of the miter-cake and that generated by from the mixmg is such as to allow the mass to remain sufliciently liquid or plastic for the time required for itto be mixed thoroughly and dumped before solidification takes place.

In performing the process, molten niterake is run, preferably directly from the into a suitable mixer, and ground phosphatebearing material is inmixer at the same time.

he proportions of the two materials is dependent upon the estimated acidity of the one material and the estimated insoluble United States, residrelates to the manufacture fertilizer, and it a A to forms in which sodium acid Patented at. a sle.

Application filed sagas: 1 917. Serial No. 184,472.

content of the other that it is desired to c0novert, it being desirable to use suflicient nitercake to convert practically all of the phosphate from the insoluble to the soluble forms. With the usuahrun of material containing approximately seventy per cent. bone phosphate of lime or its equivalent, approximately one pau't'by weight of that material is vessel before being run A weight of the bengg approximately 137 pounds to the cubic oo The materials are mixed from one to three until they are commin v and the mixing is discontlnued and e mass removed from the mixer before it has cooled and solidified to such as to have a-tendency to clog the and become diflicult of removal. resulting from erated through to any desired a le'manner. 4

While the mass is in a liquid or plastic state in the mixer and thereafter until cooling, practically eighty-seven per .cent. or more of the insoluble apparatus The gases a vent in the top of the mixer coming into intimatecontact with the phosphate-bearing material, it acts on that salt in practicall the same manner as free acid.

On coo ing, the mass sets to a rigid porous condition, and it may be disintegrated at once for use as or in 'fertilizen- However, it is preferable to allowthe material to age, inasmuch as on standingit'takes up ture and thereby acid, and that which may be liberated duringaging, to act upon the remainin unconverted phosphate and cause converslon of a considerable part of it to soluble forms. It has been found that amass that has aged for ten days has ninety per cent, of its phosphate in available form,

pro ortion of availability that is found in aci phosphate pro erly made by the methods heretofore emp eyed.

the chemical reaction are lib place disposal in any suitmaterial an extent WhlCh is about the Moreover, as the material becomes softer as a result of aging, it is more easily handled and broken. up by treatment in an ordinary fertilizer-mixing machine, as when being mixed with other fertilizer material. The mass will not absorb more than ten per cent. of moisture, except under unusual conditions, but in case there should be an excess of moisture the material may be conditioned by adding calcium cyanamid, lime, or any other suitable dehydrating agent, which will neutralize any remaining free acid, revent deliquescence, and cause the material to dry out.

During the reaction mass, the sodium acid sulfate may be considered as being broken up, theoretically in accordance with the following equation:

and the sulfuric acid thus liberated becomes available along with that which existed initially in a free state in the nitercake. The action of the sulfuric acid on the tricalcium hosphate theoretically is in accordance with the following equation:

Or the entire change representing the reaction between the sodium acid sulfate and tri-calcium phosphate may be expressed in one equation, as follows:

Thus it will be seen that, as a result of the reactions, the mass contains mono-calcium phosphate, di-calcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, and sodium sulfate. The presence of sodium sulfate is of advantage in the material in that it acts as a partial substitute for potash. Moreover, among the other valuable fertilizer ingredients of niter-cake is potash, which exists duced by this process, for potash alwaysis present to a greater or less extent in the commercial sodium nitrate used in the process that produced the niter-cake.

It will be apparent that, in the manufac ture of fertilizer material by this process,

the necessity and expense of reheating the niter-cake may be avoided, as it can be-used that occurs in the .the mass to age,

in the product proin the molten state it has when taken from the pots or retorts. Moreover, it has advantage over those methods that require grinding of the niter-cake, its mixture withthe phosphate-bearing material in the presence of water, and the use of an electric current to accelerate the chemical action, for the time and expense of re'grinding and the expense of. electricity are not incurred, and it is not necessary to evaporate the excess moisture resulting from the use of water. Further, in view of the fact that ordinary nitercake has an acidity of from thirty-two to thirty-five per cent. calculatedas sulfuric acid, which is slightly over' one-half the strength of the aci'dused in the manufacture of acid phosphate by the usual methods, addition of water to the mixture would reduce the strength to too great a degree to insure complete chemical action, even with the use of an electric current.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In the manufacture of fertilizer material, the mixing of molten niter-cake and phosphate-bearing material.

2. In the manufacture of fertilizer material, the mixing of molten niter cake and ground phosphate-bearing material.

3. The process of making fertilizer material that includes the mixing of'niter-cake and phosphate-bearing material, permitting and dlsintegrating the mass.

4. The process of making fertilizer material that includes the' introduction of ground phosphate-bearing material and molten niter-cake into a mlxer, mixing the materials therein, and discharging the mass therefrom before solidification.

5. The process of making fertilizer material that includes the introduction of ground phosphate-bearing material and molten niter-cake into a mixer, mixingthe materials therein, discharging the mass therefrom before solidification, permitting the mass to age, and disinte rating the mass. In testimony whereof I a x my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILIP MACGREGOR S HUEY.

Witnesses:

MARGARET MURPHY, E. CARMEL MURPHY. 

